[[Chumash Indians|Chumash]]&nbsp;-- The Chumash Indians were some of the first people to inhabit North America.&nbsp;Once a thriving culture, the Chumash, as did other Native American tribes, succumbed to Spanish conquistadors and American colonists.

[[Chumash Indians|Chumash]]&nbsp;-- The Chumash Indians were some of the first people to inhabit North America.&nbsp;Once a thriving culture, the Chumash, as did other Native American tribes, succumbed to Spanish conquistadors and American colonists.

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[[Chumash Indians|Chumash Indians]]&nbsp;Coast Indian Community --&nbsp;There were at one time over 20,000 Chumash living along the California coastline.

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[[Chumash Indians|Chumash Indians]]&nbsp;Coast Indian Community --&nbsp;There were at one time over 20,000 Chumash living along the California coastline.

Revision as of 17:23, 1 October 2012

One of the difficulties with American Indian research in California is in the terminology used. In most of the United States, the difference between the term tribe and band is quite clear. In California, the Bureau of Indian Affairs seems to have used the two terms almost interchangeably. At least some bands, or subdivisions, of some tribes are sometimes identified as tribes. And in a few case, smaller trust areas of land are called villages or colonies or settlements.

What are called reservations in most states are sometimes identified as such in California, but smaller land areas are also called Rancherias.

Jurisdictions are also sometimes confusing. Agencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs certainly existed and operated in California, but sometimes the duties of an agency were carried out by a school or a subagency. While that happened in other states, too, it seems to have been more common in California.

Another unique part of California Indian research is the need to be fully aware of the influence of the Spanish Missions, especially from 1769 to the mid-1800s. Much of the native population associated with these early missions and some were converted to Catholicism and have their names included in the Mission records.

To learn how to get started with American Indian research, find research facilities, and American Indian websites click here.

Tribes and Bands of California

The following list of American Indians who have lived in California has been compiled from Hodge's Handbook of American Indians...[1] and from Swanton's The Indian Tribes of North America[2]. Some may simply be variant spellings for the same tribe.

Achomawi-- or Pit River Indians occupied the drainage area of Pit river from a few miles below Round mountain up into the south end of Goose Lake Valley, about twenty miles above Alturas.

Agua Caliente -- A small Shoshonean division on the head waters of San Luis Rey r., s. Cal, forming one linguistic group with the Kawia, Luiseno, and Juaneño.

Alliklik -- Alliklik Indians are part of the Shoshonean division of the Indians of California. Living on the upper Santa Clara River in California.

Atsugewi -- They are very industrious and hardworking people. Depending on vegetables, acoms and fish to survive.

Bear River-- Traditionally living in the Cape Mendocino, in the vicinity of the Mattole and Bear rivers area.

Cahto -- Sometimes called "People of the Lake" or Lake People, refers to a Ancient lake shore where many of the prople lived.

Cahuilla -- They are referred to as Desert, Mountain and Pass Cahuillas. The Cahuilla located their people near water and food sources.

Chasta -- A group of small tribes or divisions forming the Shastan linguistic family of north California and formerly extending into Oregon.

Chaushila --As a tribe they are now extinct.

Chemehuevi -- Chemehuevi. A Shoshonean tribe, apparently an offshoot of the Paiute, formerly inhabiting the east bank of the Rio Colorado

Chetco -- A group of former Athapascan villages situated on each side of the mouth of and about 14 miles up Chetco river, Oregon.

Chilula -- The Chilula villages were near lower Redwood Creek to several miles upstream, near Minor Creek. All but one were on the NE side of the river, where timber was not as dense.

Chimariko -- A small tribe, comprising the Chimarikan family, formerly on Trinity River, near the mouth of New River, Northern California, extending from Hawkins Bar to about Big Bar, and probably along lower New River; they adjoined the Hupa downstream and the Winton upstream.

Chumash -- The Chumash Indians were some of the first people to inhabit North America. Once a thriving culture, the Chumash, as did other Native American tribes, succumbed to Spanish conquistadors and American colonists.

Chumash Indians Coast Indian Community -- There were at one time over 20,000 Chumash living along the California coastline.

Costanoan -- Are a Native American people of the central California coast.

Historical Background

A number of tribes have resided in California, some centered around the Spanish missions there. Others had no connection to those missions. The Spanish missions were the first effort at encouraging good relationships between the natives and the Caucasian settlers. Efforts were made to teach the Indians about farming methods, the Catholic religion, and other matters.

Old Spanish Missions of California, with dates of their founding

La Purisima Concepcion -- 1787

Nuestra Senora de la Soledad -- 1791

San Antonio de Padua -- 1771

San Buenaventura -- 1782

San Carlos Borromeo de Monterey -- 1770

San Diego de Alcala -- 1769

San Fernando Rey -- 1797

San Francisco de Asis (Dolores) -- 1776

San Francisco Solaro (San Solano or Sonoma) -- 1823

San Gabriel Arcangel -- 1771

San Jose -- 1797

San Juan Bautista -- 1797

San Luis Obispo de Tolosa -- 1772

San Luis Rey de Fancia -- 1798

San Juan Capistrano -- 1776

San Miguel -- 1797

San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicuner -- 1780

San Rafael -- 1817

Santa Barbara -- 1786

Santa Clara -- 1777

Santa Cruz -- 1791

Santa Ines -- 1804

Agencies and Subagencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Agencies and subagencies were created as administrative offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and its predecessors. Their purpose was (and is) to manage Indian affairs with the tribes, to enforce policies, and to assist in maintaining the peace. The names and location of these agencies may have changed, but their purpose remained basically the same. Many of the records of genealogical value were created by these offices.

The following list of agencies that have operated or now exist in California has been compiled from Hill's Office of Indian Affairs...[3], Hill's Guide to Records in the National Archives Relating to American Indians[4], and others.

For a few years in the early Twentieth Century, there were Indian offices in California that acted as agencies but were called superintendencies. They have been included in this list of agencies and subagencies.

Indian Schools

The Office of Indian Affairs (now the Bureau of Indian Affairs) established a network of schools throughout the United States, beginning with Carlisle Indian School, established in 1879. Some of these schools were day schools, usually focusing on Indian children of a single tribe or reservation. Some were boarding schools which served Indian children from a number of tribes and reservations.

In addition, other groups such as various church denominations established schools specifically focusing on American Indian children. (read more...)

The following list of Indian Schools in California has been compiled from Hill's Office of Indian Affairs...[5], Hill's Guide to Records in the National Archives Relating to American Indians[6], and others.

Reservations

From the mid-1800s, the official policy of the United States government toward the American Indian was to confine each tribe to a specific parcel of land called a reservation. Agencies were established on or near each reservation. A government representative, usually called an agent (or superintendent) was assigned to each agency. Their duties included maintaining the peace, making payments to the Native Americans based on the stipulations of the treaties with each tribe, and providing a means of communication between the native population and the federal government.

Sometimes, a single agency had jurisdiction over more than one reservation. And sometimes, if the tribal population and land area required it, an agency may have included sub-agencies.

The boundaries of reservations, over time, have changed. Usually, that means the reservations have been reduced in size. Sometimes, especially during the later policy of "termination," the official status of reservations was ended altogether.

In the 19th Century, some of the Indian tribes in California were brought under the jurisdiction of the Office of Indian Affairs and were placed on reservations.

For a current reservation map - California - Indian Reservations - The National Atlas of the United States of America. Federal Lands and Indian Reservations. By the U.S. Department of Interior and U.S. Geological Survey

The following list of reservations has been compiled from the National Atlas of the United States of America[7], the Omni Gazetteer of the United States of America[8], and other sources. Those reservations named in bold are current federally-recognized reservations located wholly or partially in California, with their associated agency and tribe(s). Others have historically been associated with the state or are not currently recognized by the federal government.

Fort Bidwell Reservation -- located in the extreme northeastern corner of California, in Modoc County, near the Oregon and Nevada borders. It is a federally-recognized reservation, under the jurisdiction of the Northern California Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It serves primarily the Paiute Tribe.

Hupa (or Hoopa) Valley Reservation -- located in northwestern California, not far from Eureka. It is a federally-recognized reservation, serving the Hupa (Hoopa) Tribe. It adjoins the Yurok Reservation.

Yurok Reservation -- located in northwestern California, near Eureka, it is a federally-recognized reservation serving the Yurok Tribe. It adjoins the Hoopa Valley Reservation and has sometimes been called the Hoopa Valley Extension Reservation

Rancherias

The San Diego State University's On-Line Encyclopedia of California Indians contains the following definition of rancherias in California:

The Spanish term for small Indian settlements. Rancherias are a particular California institution. A small area of land was set aside around an Indian settlement to create a rancheria. Some rancherias developed from small communities of Indians formed on the outskirts of American settlements who were fleeing Americans or avoiding removal to the reservations. Reservations represented lands bought for Indians previously without land, or lands traditionally uninhabited, as happened to Indian groups east of the Sierra divide. Before 1906, most land set aside for California Indians were designated as reservations. Between 1906 and 1934, 54 rancherias were established, as well as one "Indian village." Since 1934, five rancherias, an "Indian village," an "Indian community," and four reservations have been established. With the passage of Public Law 83-280 in the mid-1950s, terminating federal supervision and control over California tribes, some 40 rancherias lost the right to certain federal programs, and their lands no longer had the protection of federal status. In 1983, a lawsuit resulted in restoring federal recognition to 17 rancherias, with others still waiting for the reversal of their termination.[9]

Alturas Rancheria, Federal, under the jurisdiction of Northern California Agency, Tribe: Paiute River

↑ Hill, Edward E. (comp.). Guide to Records in the National Archives of the United States Relating to American Indians. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1981. (FHL book 970.1 H551g.)

↑ Hill, Edward E. (comp.). Guide to Records in the National Archives of the United States Relating to American Indians. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1981. (FHL book 970.1 H551g.)

↑ National Atlas of the United States of America -- Federal Lands and Indian Reservations Available online.

↑ Isaacs. Katherine M., editor. Omni Gazetteer of the United States of America. U.S. Data Sourcebook, Volume 11 Appendices, Bureau of Indian Affairs List of American Indian Reservations, Appendix E, Indian Reservations. Omnigraphics, Inc., 1991 (Family History Library book 973 E5)

↑ San Diego State University's On-Line Encyclopedia of California Indians Available Online.

Bibliography

American Indians: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications. Washington DC: National Archives Trust Fund Board, National Archives and Records Administration, 1998.

California Indians and Their Reservations: An Online Dictionary. Available online.

Hill, Edward E. (comp.). Guide to Records in the National Archives of the United States Relating to American Indians. Washington DC: National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, 1981.

Historical Sketches for Jurisdictional and Subject Headings Used for the Letters Received by the Office of Indian Affairs, 1824-1880. National Archives Microcopy T1105.

Hodge, Frederick Webb. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington D.C.:Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin #30 1907. Available online.

Isaacs. Katherine M., editor. Omni Gazetteer of the United States of America. U.S. Data Sourcebook, Volume 11 Appendices, Bureau of Indian Affairs List of American Indian Reservations, Appendix E, Indian Reservations. Omnigraphics, Inc., 1991.